This surprising factor has a lot to do with how much sleep you're getting

Many aspects of our lives rely heavily on location, location, location. Largest population of beautiful people – head to Los Angeles. Looking for the most loyal Dunkin Donuts customers around? Head to New England. And surprisingly, our sleep habits are location-based as well.

The results.

According to a recent study published in Science Advances, where you live can alter how much sleep you get on the reg. Researchers from the University of Michigan used data collected from smartphone app ENTRAIN, to analyze sleep habits of people of all ages around the world. The app was released for Android and iOS in 2014 and collected info from over 10,000 people in 20 countries on age, gender, location, time zone, wake up times, bed times, and typical lighting.

Since this data collection began in 2014, the results have been interesting, and varied across the globe. Americans took the fourth place spot in earliest bed times, behind Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand. We also have the earliest wake time, because obviously we can’t hustle when we’re sleeping, eh? Night owl champs are Spain, France, and Singapore, as the last to hit the hay.

Culture is at play.

Researcher Olivia Walch told Time that times of sunset and sunrise certainly play a role in the results, but that’s not all. There are differences in latitudes [which determine hours of sunlight], but they’re always engulfed by artificial light and culture.” said Walch.

ENTRAIN developers hope to collect enough data on sleep patterns to eventually provide practical health tips based on those patterns. For example it could determine how to adjust sleep patterns based on jet lag or traveling into different time zones. Because sleep problems can lead to so many other health issues, this is clearly a tool we all need.

So the moral of the story here is obvious: If you’re a night owl living in America, it might time to take a trip to Paris. Right?

You May Like

Read More

Giggles in your Inbox

Subscribe to our daily newsletter and get the latest updates on fashion, beauty, style, and more